Nature walk coming up August 14 at 9 AM ! Triple Oaks Nursery and Herb Garden in Franklinville, New Jersey

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Nature walk coming up August 14 at 9 AM !
posted on: July 05 2010
Garden column                                                                                         Lorraine Kiefer

    A Little Bit About Butterflies

    One of nicest experiences for gardeners is the observation of butterflies in the garden planned for them. Years of natural gardening reward us with a wonderful array of plants that attract butterflies until frost. A variety of natural food sources insure that colorful butterflies and moths live in our garden thought out the season.
From mid July until frost   it is fun to watch the butterflies from our window while eating a meal, but best is when butterflies float about us if we have breakfast or sip a late afternoon glass of wine on the deck. We purposely plant butterfly plants near our doors, windows and garden fence. Many varieties partake of nectar from all of these butterfly delicacy.
    When they are ready to lie their eggs, moths and butterflies are more specific in finding a host plant that their larvae will eat. If you plant plenty of parsley, dill, fennel and Queen Anne's lace the swallowtail butterfly will dot them with eggs and from summer to fall the plants will be covered with small black caterpillars, the larvae of the swallowtail butterflies. When these small black larvae eat they become large and striped and more and more green. After shedding their skin several times they will eventually become a pupa. This hardens and changes color, while inside the larvae begins changing to a butterfly. Sometimes you can see this happening through the cocoon. When the butterfly or moth emerges it is wet and needs some time to dry. Soon it flies to nectar plants to feed and later to host plants where it begins the cycle and lays eggs that hatch into larvae. They then eat their way to the pupa stage and it all begins again. By planting certain plants you can enjoy this life cycle right before your eyes.
Plants Butterflies and Moths Love
    The Monarch butterflies need milkweed, the spicebush butterfly sassafras or spicebush; some fritillary like violas, some need passionflower vines and mourning cloak laid eggs on pussy willow. Beautiful pale green Luna moths lay eggs on birch and hickories, which explains why I see them in the light next to our big old hickory tree. Many moths lay eggs in broad leaf deciduous trees so for this reason spraying woodland areas is harmful to moth populations. There is nothing so exquisite as the grandeur of a moth like the Polyphemus or cecropia moths. If you would like to see pictures of these beauties look in a field guide or on the Internet. Or better yet, plant some trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals that will attract them to your garden. We usually pull out wild cherry trees, but now we do have a few large ones since many beautiful moths deposit eggs on the leaves.
As a child I had a 4-H butterfly and moth project. I would watch the base of streetlights and wait to find one of the short-lived moths that flew to the light its last night of egg laying and then died. They would promptly be added to the butterfly/moth collection board. I would also catch butterflies, hopefully after they had laid their eggs.
    A fragrant shrub called glossy abelia, lilac, wigelia, vitex and many others bloom and provide nectar. There are many long lists of plants that butterfly love, but of course the bright orange butterfly weed (asclepias tuberosa) and butterfly bush (buddleia) are the most popular. To see a good variety of butterflies it is worth having a little “patch of meadow with wild milkweed [asclepias) Joe Pye weed (Eupatorium), bright purple iron weed (vernonia), Russian sage, hardy Salvia, black-eyed Susan's, and long blooming scabiosa (pincushion flower). Now is a really good time to plant shrubs and perennials for spring bloom. These plus the following will also give your yard the cottage garden look. Sow hollyhocks, chamomile, mint, anise hyssop, phlox, yarrow, lavender, perennial sunflowers (Helianthus), perennial asters, penstemon, mints, and catmint, Plant the following annuals next spring tithonia, zinnia, dill, pentas, dianthus, lantana and cosmos. These plants as well as many more will all spread, wave beautifully in the breezes, come up profusely each year and attract a large variety of butterflies. A tapestry of color, this planting looks nice along a fence, or as a border in a sunny spot.
    For a more contained look that can be used in a formal herb garden or small foundation planting use lavender, dianthus, heliotrope, purple cornflower, zinnia, basil, pansies, blue mist shrub (caryopteris) and fragrant blue blooming Vitex.
    On ongoing plan to plant your garden with butterflies and moths in mind is a great project. Don’t spray plants for the least little insect, that caterpillar you are spraying might just be a butterfly in disguise.
    Public Butterfly Garden
    The Children's Garden in Camden New Jersey boosts of both an outdoor butterfly garden and a year round butterfly house. When I spoke to Mike Devlin one day he remarked that two Monarchs were just outside his window, but that there were many more in the butterfly house. “ It is an attraction that has allowed us to teach more about the environment.”
http://www.camdenchildrensgarden.org/butterfly.html, which is part of http://www.camdenchildrensgarden.org
Plant now for butterflies in your garden next season.